


You are the Best Thing

by Anonymous



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, gaara rarely gets to finish a sentence and it's honestly kinda sad, love that my writing is good only when i write in the shower
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:31:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25010161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Apartment life gets boring on your own. Fortunately for Gaara, the universe has someone interesting in store for him.
Relationships: Gaara/Rock Lee, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 32
Kudos: 58
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Subways Suck

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Mantra by BOYO.
> 
> 7/22 Update:  
> Hey! I'm so so sorry to all of those who are really enjoying this fic and can't wait to see more, but I'm going to be taking a hiatus from writing it for a bit. The good news, I have an outline and I know where the fic is going, the bad news, I've gotten wrapped up in another fandom (Haikyuu!!) and I don't know when I'll be coming back. Again, I'm terribly sorry that there won't be any updates for a little while.

Gaara didn't particularly like the subway; it was crowded, loud, and grimy, but it was cheaper and easier than owning a car in the city. Cars were expensive and you never knew when some asshole would crash into you and throw your insurance through the roof. Plus, finding parking for the damn thing was next to impossible. 

He was on his way home from lunch with his former dorm mate, Naruto. During Gaara's first year of college, he stayed on campus. Naruto was his roommate for the time being. Initially, Gaara had found the blond annoying and loud. He had later learned that he was actually quite nice and they had both been through some rough family times. Although Naruto didn't know his parents all that much, they had passed away when he was young, they had both suffered from some major mental health issues that ostracized them from kids their age when they were little. Their approaches to life were certainly different, but they could relate to each other.

Gaara had decided to move out the following year because he found he needed more space to focus and get his homework done. Naruto had been a little disappointed at the announcement and made Gaara promise that they would stay in touch since they probably wouldn't see each other much due to their differing majors. Gaara liked Naruto a lot, he really did, but he quite enjoyed his Brooklyn apartment. It was nice to have a space where he could move around and take some time for himself.

Naruto had taken Gaara to a sandwich shop called Leinwich, where they picked up their lunch. He had assumed they were going to stay in the shop after getting their food, but Naruto had dragged him to Central Park instead. There, they sat on a rock, catching up and making fun of the passerbys below. They had stayed out a lot longer than either of them had anticipated, the sun had begun to set by the time they started to pack up and walk to the nearest station together. The two were lucky for the first half hour or so; their train arrived on time without delays and it wasn't packed, but when Naruto had gotten off to transfer, things started to get uncomfortable.

Gaara really didn't like the subway, especially not when he was sure that the toddler behind him had thrown up on the train floor. He didn't see it happen, nor did he hear it, thank god, but he had caught a glimpse of the kid's mother hurriedly wiping something off the floor then whisking him up out of the doors and holding him to the nearest trash can. Disgusting. The sight brought a memory of another toddler running around in Mitsuwa, the Japanese supermarket/restaurant that his brother liked so much. Gaara and his siblings had just sat down for a late dinner together when he saw the mother of the child's eyes boggle before she whisked the toddler up and held her to the nearest trash can, just like the kid he had recently seen. Recalling the event made Gaara's skin crawl, he dragged his free hand across his face. Why did little kids have to throw up so much?

After that whole debacle, the train started to get more crowded. Earlier, there had been singing groups walking the train asking for money. Now there were only grumpy commuters who wanted nothing more than to get home. Gaara shared the sentiment, his feet were starting to ache from standing for so long.

At the next stop, a whole lot more passengers clambered into the train car. A very tall muscular man stood next to him, excitedly chatting to some people that had also come on with him. Gaara didn't look up at him, choosing instead to look at the floor. The man's voice was very loud and he enunciated each word clearly, avoiding contractions as much as possible. Gaara kind of hoped he would shut up. 

The train chugged along steadily for the next few stops, with the occasional jerk or screech. The pace meant he would soon be able to transfer and get home, but as luck would have it, the train stopped in the tunnel with a sudden jerk. 

Since it was an older model, the conductor's monotone voice crackled over the speaker instead of a recording, "We are delayed because of train traffic ahead of us. We are sorry for the inconvenience, the train will continue moving once the traffic has cleared." 

Several people audibly groaned and sighed. Gaara shifted his feet, letting go of the pole overhead and checking the time on his phone. It was late. He was tired. He would have to wait a little longer to get home, but at least he was getting closer to his transfer station. People on the train were silent, but anyone could tell that all of the passengers were rather annoyed.

Green eyes drifted over the people on the train since there was nothing better to do. There was a teenager sitting in front of him, clutching a backpack to his chest like it was his most prized possession. He had large, round glasses and seemed very anxious. The teen had been on the train for some unspecified amount of time before Gaara. In the time he had been on the train with the kid, he noticed that he would constantly check his phone for the time and try to get a look out of the train doors to check the stop. The teen continuously shifted about, trying to get as close to the man sleeping beside him as possible, which was probably his father. 

There was a lady who was holding a particularly chubby baby in her lap sitting a little ways away from him. The child was looking around observing the passengers as well. Gaara met the baby's eyes before quickly looking away. He hoped that this little kid wouldn't throw up on the train too. 

There was also the man who was standing a little closer to him than necessary, still chatting with his friends. Gaara snuck a few looks at the person who was invading his personal space. He was dressed in a green spandex shirt and running shorts with some very tight leggings underneath those shorts. Gaara's eyes drifted up to the man's face and were greeted with some very bushy eyebrows and a ridiculously straight bowl cut. 

Apparently, he had been staring for a little bit too long because the man had stopped chatting to his friends and turned to look at Gaara.

"Did you need something?" His eyes were dark brown and framed by some very lush eyelashes.

Gaara hurriedly averted the man's gaze, "Ah, no. Sorry."

"Were you perhaps thinking I was a bit odd?" Bowl cut man chuckled, "My friends often tell me the same thing."

He had gestured back to another man who had long hair, and a petite woman that had put her hair up in two buns. 

Gaara opened his mouth to apologize again when the train speaker crackled, "The train traffic is now clear, we will begin moving shortly."

The train didn't start moving shortly, but immediately. Gaara fumbled for the bar overhead and missed, he stumbled before large, warm hands gripped his waist to steady him.

The hands let go once Gaara had gotten a hold of the bar, "Whoa! Are you all right?"

"'M fine," As an afterthought, Gaara tacked on a "thanks."

The man started to say something else, but was distracted when the long haired man put a hand on his shoulder to ask him a question. 

\---

The rest of the trip wasn't very eventful, Gaara transferred at the next stop, rode the F train for a little bit, got off at his stop, and walked home. He washed his hands when he entered his apartment, then set his keys down on the kitchen counter and rummaged around in the fridge. He heated up and ate some day-old dumplings from the restaurant a few blocks down before getting ready for bed.

After he took his melatonin, Gaara lay in his bed while staring at the outline of the ceiling fan. The man he had met on the train drifted through his thoughts. Yes, he was a little bit strange, but certainly not the strangest he's seen in the city before. He was nice enough to steady him, and dare he say it, train man was a little bit attractive. It was a bit of a shame he probably wouldn't see him again. 

_"Oh well. That's how life is,"_ Gaara thought as the melatonin kicked in and he drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a clear idea for where this fic is going, but I wasn't sure how to start this it. Shower thoughts were like, "I gotchu homie."


	2. Passing Time

Gaara didn't sleep for very long. He never slept for very long anyway, so it wasn't much of a surprise. Insomnia was a bitch. 

He looked at the clock next to his bed and quickly calculated how many hours of sleep he had gotten. It was somewhere around five hours. That was more than usual, he would probably be able to function a little better today. 

The sun still hadn't risen, well, it was three in the morning after all. Gaara stared at the ceiling for a little while before decisively throwing his legs off the side of his bed and standing up. He grabbed a change of clothes from the dresser at the foot of his bed and headed to the shower. 

There wasn't much reason for him to shower in the morning since most of the grime was already scrubbed off from his nighttime shower, but it was warm and woke him up a little bit. After his shower, Gaara changed into a comfortable sweater and some black sweat pants. He'd probably change one more time before he left the apartment and started his morning commute, it was much too hot to be wearing this kind of attire. 

Gaara filled a mug with water and popped in in the microwave for two minutes. While the mug was spinning around, he tended to his numerous plants that were scattered around the apartment. When the microwave beeped, he dunked in a bag of chai tea and poured a bit of almond milk into the mug. Gaara didn't like regular milk, it left a weird after taste in his mouth. His siblings, mostly Kankuro, used to tease him about the milk thing and claim that not drinking milk was the reason he was shorter than Temari and him. Gaara shrugged it off. Milk tasted weird, he wasn't going to drink it. 

Before he sat down at the kitchen table, Gaara pulled out his meds from one of the overhead cabinets and washed them down with his tea. He watched the sunrise from the living room window, then rose to his feet to get his phone from his room. He checked the weather briefly and changed into a red striped t-shirt and some mahogany chino shorts, neatly folding what he was wearing earlier and placing them on top of the dresser. Gaara eyed a thin hoodie before shrugging it on and slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder. 

He grabbed a granola bar and his keys and swiftly left his apartment. There was still a purple five a.m. haze outside, which Gaara didn't really mind. His classes wouldn't start for several hours, but leaving early meant that the trains wouldn't be crowded and he could grab something more substantial to eat on campus while finishing up any homework or studying for some test or quiz he had that day. 

\---

Gaara's classes went by smoothly and quickly. He was able to make through his boring general classes while giving his full attention which made his botany-related classes all the more interesting because math was honestly just the most boring thing in the world. When class was over, Gaara took a short walk through the campus courtyard on his way to Sunagakure, the small bookstore just outside of the college property. The bookstore was often frequented by students due to its proximity and it was so close that the college had teamed up with it and asked for certain materials to be sold there as well. Occasionally, some window shoppers would stop by too. Although the shop was fairly busy, it had a cozy, antique feel to it. Gaara had chosen to work there mostly because it was close to his school, but he also appreciated that it was owned by his family friend, Baki. 

It had been a surprise and wonderful coincidence that Baki owned and managed the bookstore. Since Baki had babysat him and his siblings since when they were very little, he cut Gaara some slack and put him in a position where he didn't have to interact with people all that much. He would usually stock books and other goods on the shelves and re-shelve items customers decided they didn't want at the last second. When he arrived at the bookstore, Baki and a few of the cashiers he had seen before greeted him. Gaara gave them a quick wave before heading to the break room, pinning his name tag to his shirt and dropping off his belongings. He then went to ask what he was supposed to do today and was directed to a box of books on a pushcart. 

\---

His shift was pretty uninteresting, it was mostly: push the cart, shelve the books, push the cart some more, and repeat. Other than the few seconds Gaara spent checking to make sure the author's last name was in alphabetical order with the others, it was peaceful and mindless work. 

Then some kid started scream crying. Then the kid's mother started yelling at the kid while he was scream crying. If it had been anyone else, they would have shaken their head or rolled their eyes, inwardly commenting on the mother's horrible parenting, but it was Gaara. His mind was starting to go blank and he felt his hands start to tremble around the book he was holding.

He didn't want to move, he wanted to stay right there and have a meltdown while listening to the commotion, which would only make things worse. There was a slight pang of panic rising up his sternum and making his throat feel tight. Tears started to well up in his eyes, but he blinked them away, not yet allowing himself to break down. He tried to breathe deeply and forced himself to stand up and walk to the back room. His body didn't feel like it was his any more, it was like he was watching himself through a security camera. His legs were heavy and it felt like he was dragging concrete blocks across the floor, but he made it to his destination in the end. 

He closed the door and slid to the floor, his head between his knees. His hands gripped lightly at his scalp while he tried to steady his breathing. Lids closed over green eyes as Gaara pictured a whiteboard in his mind and started to paint it black. The imaginary paint separated into little droplets the first few times the brush touched the board, but the paint stuck as time went on. 

Once Gaara calmed down, he stared blankly at the wall in front of him.

"Little kids are a total nuisance," He said to no one in particular as he brushed himself off and stood up.

He pushed his way out of the break room and was met with a girl who was a little younger than him named Matsuri. She gave him a worried glance as he shuffled his way back to the pushcart and its books. A few of the employees knew Gaara had some issues, but they never really said much about it. If something had gone awry enough that he had a panic attack outside of the break room, at least one person would come and find him then help him calm down. He was grateful for that. 

The day continued without disruption and Gaara fell back into his usual daily rhythm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the joys of set up and writing short chapters because my scatterbrain can't focus on anything for more than 20 minutes at a time.


	3. A Proposal

The rest of the week was monotonous; wake up some at ungodly hour, go to school, go to work, go home, go to bed, then rinse and repeat. The weekends were spent at home tending to the plants, doing school work, and going grocery shopping occasionally. Sometimes his siblings would pop in to say hi, but they were never able to stick around for very long. 

Gaara worked some extra shifts at the bookstore on weekends too, if his classes weren't overly demanding. The job paid a decent amount, but it wasn't nearly enough for Gaara to pay his rent in full when the end of the month came. 

When he had gotten the apartment, he had been saving up some money and he was able to pay the security deposit and the next three months by himself. Gaara had planned to take on another job besides the bookstore to cover for his apartment after he realized he wasn't making enough, but Temari had butted in and offered to help pay. He had denied her the first couple times, assuring his sister that finding another job wouldn't be disruptive and he would be fine. He shouldn't have underestimated Temari's stubbornness; when she wanted to do something, she was going to do it. In the end, they reached a compromise in which Temari would pay a fourth of his rent. Kankuro caught wind of the discussion and offered to pay another fourth. He apologized profusely, but the two continued to reassure them it wasn't too much for them.

Kankuro had told him it would only be temporary. Once he got a big boy job that wasn't at a tiny bookstore, he would be in charge of all his expenses. That didn't sound particularly exciting, but he was eager to prove that he could pull his own weight. 

Temari and Kankuro weren't rich by any means, but they were better off than Gaara was. Temari worked at a bodyguard agency, or as she called it, an executive protection agency. She worked both as someone who was hired to, obviously, protect people and as an instructor. She had proved her worth and abilities early on but still had to climb the ladder like anyone else. Her job paid well, but that didn't make Gaara feel less guilty. When she had invited Gaara in for a few classes, he attended since it was the least he could do. Gaara took the classes until Temari felt that he could defend himself and then shooed him out. His brother had stuck around at the agency and worked there for a little while before he got bored and moved on to something else.

While Temari continued her job at the agency, his brother had moved on to the world of theater. Kankuro had started his career as a stand up comedian/ventriloquist. From there, he had been contacted by a few indie filmmakers and worked with their practical effects teams a few times. He had been in off-Broadway performances and a background character in a few well known TV shows. At one point, he had even worked on a kids' show which Temari had teased him for relentlessly. Gaara had also snorted to himself when he heard that his gruff, 6' 4" older brother who wore low-key edgy makeup and all black would be working on a happy, vibrant kids' show. Kankuro had cussed them out for making fun of him when they had met up after the episode featuring him had been released. It had been absurd to see Kankuro dressed in a bright yellow suit with rainbow whiskers glued to his face. His older brother wasn't famous, but he made more than enough money to support himself. Again, that didn't make Gaara feel any less guilty. So when he was invited to one of his stand up shows he, of course, attended.

What Gaara hadn't expected was for Kankuro to make the whole show dedicated to him. He told soppy stories of him being nice to Temari and Kankuro and accentuating some parts to make the stories more humorous. He also told one story from when they had gone to the beach and Gaara had been slathered in sunscreen because his mom thought he was going to burn since he was so pale. It later turned out that Gaara didn't burn at all and he actually had gotten a nice tan. He just stayed inside so much all his melanin had decided to take a hike for a bit.

His brother mentioned that Gaara was somewhere in the audience at the end, but didn't invite him on or anything because he knew he'd be uncomfortable. Hell, Gaara was already uncomfortable. He hadn't realized the reason for the show until Kankuro somehow made Temari appear on stage with him and they made the audience sing "Happy Birthday" to Gaara.

After that, Gaara had promised to pay his siblings back when he got himself a better job and tried his hardest to get them gifts they could use or be of use himself. He got Kankuro some really fancy makeup and a set of carving tools for his puppets one Christmas and had later helped Temari design an appealing and professional looking business card.

Gaara loved his siblings and appreciated them greatly, he would be indebted to them for all they did for him. He was incredibly thankful that they paid for his rent, and he liked the apartment very much, but it was very lonely and boring living completely by himself. Nothing new ever happened. Not only that, but the guest room was practically turning into a storage room since his siblings couldn't visit that often.

When Naruto had been dragged into the bookstore by a friend during Gaara's break, he mentioned his apartment situation.

"You should have stayed in the dorm with me!" Naruto had said, slamming his hand on a book display, "Now I'm stuck with Sasuke, and he just complains about everything I do."

Gaara gave him what he hoped was an apologetic look, "'M sorry. Seems annoying."

The blond grumbled under his breath, then his eyes lit up, "Oh! I have an idea!"

"Hm?"

"My friend's cousin is keeping some transfer student in his basement right now," Naruto tapped on his chin. "I hear he's been looking for a more permanent place to stay."

Naruto looked over his shoulder and called to the pink-haired woman that had dragged him in, "Hey, Sakura, what's the name of Hinata's cousin again?"

Sakura walked over to the two of them, a textbook in hand, "Hinata Hyuuga, right? I think her cousin's name is Neji, why?"

The name sounded vaguely familiar.

"Gaara's looking for a roommate!" Came the overly loud response.

Sakura had been at Sunagakure a few times and frequented the medical books. She gave Gaara a warm smile and a "good luck" before going back to what she was doing.

Naruto continued to ramble on, saying that he'd get in contact with Neji through Hinata and get Gaara some much needed company. He thought out loud while Gaara quietly listened. Naruto didn't know much about the person Neji was keeping with him and had only seen him a few times. From what he had seen, the guy was a total oddball. The second he had seen Sakura, he had proclaimed his undying love for her and challenged Naruto to a sparring match in some martial art he wasn't familiar with while saying that his physique would make him an excellent opponent. Naruto had also mentioned that he had made a slightly disappointed face when he faltered on a word and turned to ask Neji what the word was in some other language before turning to Naruto with a new sense of vigor. Aside from the weirdness, he did seem like a genuinely nice person.

Gaara wasn't too sure about this person given that description, but Naruto had already been texting Hinata while chatting to him. In less than ten minutes, he was texting Gaara Neji's contact information. Before Gaara could get a word in, his former dorm mate was holding a litany of medical textbooks with Sakura herding him out of the store.

Staring down at the new notification on his phone, Gaara decided he would think about whether or not he really wanted a roommate. 

\---

Another school week passed as Gaara mulled over having a new person live in his apartment with him. It would be a bit more lively, but he wasn't sure if he wanted someone so lively he professed love at first sight. He continued to let the thought roll around in his head. On one hand, the person could be messy, on the other they could help pay for the rent. 

That was the deal breaker for Gaara. If having a roommate meant he wouldn't have to rely on his siblings to pay his rent, then he would get a roommate. He had come to this revelation during the last few minutes of his Calculus Two class, students were already shuffling to leave the classroom when Gaara came out of his stupor. He hurriedly shoved his books into his bag, when he was suddenly startled by someone tapping on his shoulder. 

"You're Gaara, right?"

He gave the person a look, then continued to hastily put his belongings into his bag. He was confused as to why this person was talking to him. He had long brown hair and stony gray eyes, something seemed vaguely familiar about him. Was he in this class or coming in for the next one? 

"I'm Neji, I sit in the row behind you," he said.

Gaara didn't respond, instead slinging his bag over his shoulder and turning to walk out of the room. It made sense why he seemed familiar now, there wasn't any need to continue this conversation.

"My cousin's friend said something about you needing a roommate?" Neji called after him, "If you want to talk about it, you can text me or ask your friend to do it for you."

Gaara strode quickly out of the room with a curt nod, heading to his next lecture. He might have made up his mind, but he wasn't ready to come out and ask about it yet. He would do that on his own time when he felt completely sure of his decision.

\---

During his shift at Sunagakure, it was a lot louder than it usually was that day. The noise wasn't due to screaming kids and terrible parents this time, good for Gaara, but by one very loud and muscular man. 

Gaara had been too immersed in his work to care all that much and he tried to tune out the booming voice that rivaled Naruto's while focusing on putting the books where they were supposed to go. He idly thought about what he was going to have for dinner that night when someone loudly cleared their throat behind him. He ignored it for a few seconds then there was a hand on his shoulder. Gaara cast a backward glance at the person's sneaker clad feet. They were odd sneakers, neon orange and green with strange blades on the soles.

Apparently that pause was all the stranger needed to continue, "Excuse me, may I ask you where the fitness books might be?"

The redhead huffed a sigh before unfolding his legs and picking himself off the carpeted floor, "Follow me."

Gaara led the person with the odd shoes to a section of the bookstore and gave him a once over while he was browsing. He swore he recognized something about him. There wasn't much time for Gaara to think about it some more when the man in question struck an odd pose and gave him a billion watt smile while thanking him. He blinked twice before muttering that it wasn't too much trouble and returning to his work.

He decided he would order Pad Thai for dinner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably my favorite chapter to write, love the Sand Siblings.


	4. Laundry Day

_hi neji this is gaara_  
_sorry about earlier i was going to be late to my lecture_  
_could you get me in touch with the person youre looking after?_  
_thanks_

Gaara sat on his couch with his legs against his chest and stared at his phone on the coffee table. It had been a little over five minutes since he had decided to text Neji about the person who was living in his basement and he still hadn't gotten a response back. Gaara sighed before deciding to wrap up for the day and he went about his nightly routine.

Gaara had only gotten a measly three hours of sleep, falling asleep at six and waking up at nine, which was all right since it was Saturday anyways. He groggily rubbed at his face before his eyes shot open in realization: it was laundry day. He threw himself out of the bed and quickly got ready, downing his meds dry. He quickly shoved his dirty clothes from the bathroom hamper into a large drawstring bag and snatched his phone and keys from his room.

His phone was vibrating in his hand, it was Kankuro, "Hey, get up yet?"

"Mm, yeah. Be out in a sec," Gaara said while clumsily fumbling with his shoes.

When Gaara left the apartment, the drawstring bag over his shoulder, Kankuro's beat up Prius was double parked outside his apartment building. He jogged up to the car, placing the bag in the popped trunk then scurrying to the passenger side and buckling himself in. Kankuro ruffled his hair and handed him a paper bag. There was a sesame bagel with butter inside, Gaara nibbled at it while Kankuro asked him questions about school and his job. Gaara replied with one word answers. When his brother was done questioning him, he started rambling about his latest shoot and how absolutely hectic it was. It was a horror series that had something to do with mysteries and crime. There were two kids he often had to work with that were kind of bratty and downright hated each other, one had pale white hair, the other had blond. He hadn't expected to be babysitting, but it was paying the bills.

It had taken about an hour's drive to get to Kankuro's Edgewater flat. Kankuro unlocked the door and Gaara made a beeline for the laundry room, dumping the clothes on the tiled floor and sorting them by color, he tossed all his dark clothing, which was most of it, into the washer. He threw in the bag he had brought his clothes in too. His brother added some of his own black clothes to the washer as well, then he suggested they go check out Mitsuwa plaza and look at some of the shops together when the laundry was done. Gaara agreed, sitting on top of the warm, water filled washer while tapping away at his phone. Neji had gotten back to him.

_Hey, Gaara. Thank you for asking about Lee, he's been looking for a place for a little while. I can set you up with his phone number._

_okay_

_(533)-XXX-XXXX_  
_Let me know if you need anything else._

_will do_  
_thanks again_

After all their clothes were dry and folded on top of the washer and dryer, the two brothers wandered from shop to shop. Kankuro bought them some bubble tea and Gaara had gotten both of them Pocky from a store called Daiso. They hung out in Kankuro's living room while the sun set outside, he called some pizza parlor and they ate dinner while watching one of the films Kankuro had worked on. Gaara would be staying the night, he usually did. He came over every two weeks to wash his clothes, which was often enough that he had a toothbrush in Kankuro's bathroom. The trip wouldn't be worth it if he just came over, did his laundry, and left. Besides, Gaara liked spending his idle time with his brother. Sometimes he would bring Gaara to the filming sites, if he was working that weekend, and let him mess around with his props.

Even though Kankuro was the one lending Gaara his washer and dryer, Temari was the person who had actually suggested it. She didn't want any of his clothes to get stolen if he sent them to a laundromat because she had lost a number of expensive clothes that way. It was a nice arrangement since they could hang out, but sometimes Kankuro's spontaneous schedule meant Gaara either had to wait or use the shitty, and very broken, laundry sets in the basement of his apartment building.

The next morning, Gaara sent a text message. He had woken up at seven and, in his half-awake state, had decided to text the person Neji had called Lee.

_hi my names gaara_

Gaara stared at the message for a second then hit send before he could chicken out. He sent two more messages explaining why he was texting.

_a friend told me that you might be looking for a place to stay_  
_if you want to i could rent out a room to you_

He shifted underneath the covers of his borrowed bed and looked out the window that was nearby. Less than thirty seconds had passed before Gaara felt his phone buzz in his hand.

_Hi, Gaara! My name is Rock Lee, but please just call me Lee!_  
_I am looking for a place where I could stay, and I am very grateful that you are offering to lend me a room!_  
_Before we go there though, I think that we should get to know each other a little bit._  
_How was your morning so far?_

Gaara wasn't even directly speaking to this person, and he already knew he was loud.

_its been fine_  
_hows yours_

He spent the rest of the morning glued to his phone. Lee would reply almost immediately and Gaara could practically taste the enthusiasm that was laced into his texts. It was a little surprising to him that a normal person could function so well at seven thirty in the morning, considering that Kankuro and Temari could barely open their eyes if they were awake right now. It was less shocking when Lee told him he enjoyed exercising and had a whole morning routine that he followed. Lee asked him a few more questions before Gaara deemed the conversation too personal and tried to steer him back into the direction of business.

Gaara explained to Lee what his apartment had in store for him along with how the building was and where. When he mentioned the district, Lee had perked up and said that Neji's place wasn't too far from there. He told Lee his starting price, which was the cumulative amount his siblings were currently paying. His response was still enthusiastic and he assured Gaara that he would match the price no matter what. Since Lee came up with new questions every three seconds, it took Gaara longer than usual to pack all his folded clothes into the bag he had brought because he tried to answer each one as they came. He didn't want to keep his potential roommate waiting. This had continued on even in the car ride home.

"Who're you texting?" Kankuro had taken notice, "You got a girlfriend or something? You're gonna have to tell me how that started."

His brother waggled his painted eyebrows at Gaara when they had stopped at a red light.

Gaara gave him an incredulous look that told Kankuro he was way off the mark, "It's some guy who's looking for a place to live. Might have a roommate soon."

It was Kankuro's turn to stare, making the person behind him honk their horn loudly. He cursed under his breath and stepped on the gas.

He asked Gaara about his new potential roommate, eyes now focused on the road in front of him. Gaara told Kankuro what he knew, which wasn't very much since he had only begun texting Lee that morning. He also explained how life was not having someone else around. Kankuro had given Gaara a sad look at the mention that he was lonely at home before saying that he didn't think it would be a bad idea. They pulled up to Gaara's brick apartment building a half hour later. When Gaara unbuckled himself to get out and get his bag from the trunk, his brother leaned over from the driver's seat to give him an awkward half hug. They waved at each other for a brief second, then some asshole driver started honking unnecessarily and Kankuro cursed the driver out from his window. Gaara took that as his cue to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you feel it? Something big is about to happen!


	5. A Visit

Apparently, Kankuro had told Temari that Gaara might be getting a roommate because she had called him later that evening to barrage him with questions. Gaara retold Temari the same information he had told his brother just hours ago. When she heard that he hadn't yet met Lee in person, her tone became stern and she scolded him for inviting some stranger to live in his apartment. He said that it would be fine, and he could handle himself if Lee turned out to be some criminal. He had taken self defense classes under his sister's watchful eye after all. 

Temari didn't buy it, "Gaara, what if he turns out to be some smooth-talking serial killer?"

"He's probably not," he said, distractedly picking at the side of his thumb.

"You don't know that!"

He held the phone away from his ear and brought it back after Temari finished her sentence, "Yeah, well, you don't either."

Gaara heard her huff angrily and shift around through his phone speaker. He heard what sounded like fingertips clacking on a keyboard. 

"What's his full name?" 

"Isn't this abuse of your work privileges?" She was probably going to look Lee up in her agency's database.

His sister sighed, "I just want to make sure my little brother isn't going to die because of some psychopathic murderer. Come on, Gaara. Name."

Gaara refused to tell her, saying that it was an invasion of someone's privacy and it could be considered a crime. She still tried to coax Lee's full name out of him, but he continued to deny her. 

They came to a compromise, "How about this, I write his name down and don't look it up. If anything weird happens, you tell me immediately and I'll search for him then. It wouldn't be considered a crime if you were in danger, right?" 

"Fine," He rolled his eyes. "'S Rock Lee."

A pen scratched on paper, "Rock Lee? That totally sounds like an alias." 

"Temari," Gaara groaned. 

He tried, once more, to convince his sister that Lee probably wasn't some bat shit crazy killer and recounted the story Naruto had told him about Lee and Sakura. Instead of being reassured, her voice had raised as she exclaimed that that was exactly the type of behavior a serial killer would engage in. She said that acting like that was probably how he lured his unsuspecting victims before they mysteriously went missing. Gaara doubted her logic.

\---

Despite Temari's outward disapproval, Gaara continued to text Lee. He promised his sister that, if he learned anything new, she would be the first to know. He had learned a lot about his potential roommate from texting Lee during the following week: he worked as an instructor at a dojo, he was currently enrolled in an executive protection program, he was half-Korean and had been living in Japan with his uncle, and he moved to America when his uncle had to move for work. He informed Temari about what he had learned when she had seen the text that contained the words "executive protection," she immediately began hounding him about what agency was hosting the program. Gaara had protested, claiming that was none of her business, but asked Lee nonetheless. His program was held at her agency's quarters on the Upper West Side, it was known as the Konoha branch. His sister muttered something about going to check it out, but Gaara pleaded with her not to. She obliged, for now. 

Lee was very friendly during their text exchanges. Although Lee was doing most of the typing, he seemed to genuinely enjoy learning about the minute details of Gaara's life. Every time Gaara tossed out a handful of words about his major or what he was doing that day, Lee would excitedly try and build onto what had been said. Sometimes the immediate replies were a little bit annoying to deal with if he was doing something, but he did enjoy the sentiment. It was nice to have some semblance of company, even if it was through texting a man he had never met almost constantly. 

One time, Lee had tried to call him in the middle of a text conversation. It had unsettled Gaara quite a bit, he didn't like talking to people on the phone unless they were his siblings. Once, Gaara had to do a group project for one of the required classes that came with his major. They had discussed most of the project details over a Google Hangout meeting, in which Gaara kept his mic on mute and texted his ideas in the chat. The rest of his group members didn't say anything about it and the project had gotten a good grade, but the calls had been very uncomfortable for him. After mentioning that he would prefer to text over calling, Lee had apologized fervently and said that he wouldn't do it again if it bothered him that much. Lee informed him that he was going to work out afterward and left Gaara to tend to the small bonsai tree on his desk. 

The next week, Gaara was dropped into a group chat with Neji and Lee that was titled "The Youthful Joys of Meeting a New Roommate," or something like that.

_Hello, everyone!_  
_I am here to ask Gaara a question, but I will need Neji's consent before I go ahead with my plan._

_Sure, shoot._

_Okay!_  
_Gaara would you be willing to come and meet me in person at Neji's place?_  
_If it makes you feel more comfortable, feel free to bring a friend with you!_

_hi lee_  
_yeah i can do that_  
_just give me the details_  
_ill probably bring a friend with me_  
_for comfort_  
_like you said_

Neji later added his address to the chat and Lee negotiated a time that would work for both him and Gaara. He contemplated asking Temari to come with him, but he was sure that would end in disaster. He thought about bringing Kankuro, but Gaara remembered that his brother had told him he was going to be working on the mystery show and would be out of the state for a week. He tried Naruto as a last resort, the blond replied with a string of emojis and a "yes." He told Gaara that he was actually going to be heading to Neji's to visit someone too, so it was convenient for him. Naruto was added to the group chat and Neji reiterated the time Lee had chosen. 

Naruto came to Sunagakure that Friday and waited until Gaara's shift was over before the two of them hopped on the subway. Baki had let Gaara go a little early since Naruto was being rather distracting and scaring away customers with his loudness. They left at around three thirty that afternoon. Since they were making good time, the two students made a quick stop at Gaara's apartment so Gaara could drop off his bag and pick up a gift from a local bakery. When he and Naruto got off the subway for the second time, Gaara was shocked at how clean and fancy the buildings in the district were. The trees lining the sidewalks were actually lush and full of leaves, unlike the ones in front of his building. 

His accomplice seemed to know where he was going, so Gaara trailed behind him, clutching the box of cookies he had bought while Naruto led the way. He was so busy gawking at the pristine scenery that he nearly bumped into Naruto when he suddenly stopped. Gaara turned to look at the building Naruto was currently checking the address number of; it was a brick brownstone building with a navy blue door and some plant pots sitting neatly on the sides of the stairs. Gaara recognized one of the plants as Heuchera because of its vibrant, purple leaves. He silently gave whoever was managing the pots a thumbs up for taking good care of the plants. Naruto hopped up the steps, about to press the buzzer next to the door when Neji swung it open. His friend greeted him with a large amount of zeal before hesitantly asking for his name, to which, Neji sighed and told him. His tone of voice told Gaara that it had to have been the umpteenth time Naruto had forgotten his name. With that exchange over, Neji waved them both into the building. 

Gaara stared in awe at his surroundings: there was a bike rack to his right, the floor was covered in red carpet that trailed up a staircase that had a white railing, next to the staircase was a short hallway that had one dark wood door on the right and ended at a white door. Neji walked to the white door, opened it, and shouted something, the shout was shortly followed by thundering footsteps. Gaara heard a very loud and familiar voice before Neji stepped aside to let the person through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's almost here, I can taste it!


	6. The Youthful Joys of Meeting a New Roommate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a drawing from this chapter, check it out [here](https://scorchion.tumblr.com/post/622945234192613376/hehe-this-is-a-drawing-of-a-scene-in-my-gaalee)!

When Neji stepped back, Gaara was immediately assaulted with an overly exuberant greeting, "Hello! I am Rock Lee, but you probably know that already!"

A familiar face with thick eyebrows, lush lashes, and a very pristine bowl cut stood before him. The man was in an awkward crouching position, with his thumb turned upwards, he smiled brightly and was clad in a white t-shirt and gray cargo shorts with some canvas sandals.

"Uh, hi. I'm Gaara, obviously," Gaara backed away from the thumb that was pointed in his face.

This person, who he now associated with the Lee on his phone, looked him over for a little bit before exclaiming, "Oh! Do you perhaps work at a bookstore called Sunagakure?"

"Yeah," Gaara was shocked, but not surprised that the Lee he had been texting was this man he had met two weeks prior.

Lee stood up properly, back ramrod straight, "It is a pleasure to formally meet you, Gaara!"

A large hand was extended to him, Gaara hesitantly shook it. Naruto blinked at Lee when he turned to him and asked Gaara if this was the friend he had chosen to bring. When Gaara said yes, Lee nodded to him, then looked back at Naruto saying that his offer for a sparring match was still on the table.

Naruto waved his hand at Lee, "Yeah, yeah. Okay, Bushy Brows, I'll do that later."

A hearty laugh echoed in the space Neji, Gaara, Naruto, and Lee were occupying. Lee loudly announced that Naruto was a bold one and that he wouldn't go easy on him when the time came for their match. Neji let their banter drawl on for a bit before herding the group up the carpeted stairs. Naruto grumbled then his face lit up when he looked up the staircase and bounded up the stairs to get to whatever he had seen. Lee chatted Gaara up while they climbed the stairs, passing a landing with another dark wood door, then a second landing with a corkboard and several pictures on it. At the third and final landing, there was another dark wood door that was wide open this time. Gaara shucked off his shoes and pressed the small box of cookies into Lee's hands as they entered the apartment.

"This is for me?" Gaara nodded as Lee peered down at the box, "Thank you very much! You did not have to get me a gift, but it is very much appreciated!"

He turned to Gaara, saying something about feeling guilty and promised that he would return the favor. Gaara told him that he didn't have to do such a thing. He looked around the apartment; there was an island in the kitchen he had just walked into with mail among other things neatly organized on top of it. There were also some very large windows that made the place have a very open, natural feel about it. Gaara wandered closer to the windows into the living space, there were some plush looking seats and bookshelves lining the walls. He turned when he saw Naruto loudly chatting to a girl in a purple hoodie who was sitting at a wooden table. She shyly laughed at something Naruto had said before turning to see who had walked in. She gave Gaara a small smile and waved at him. Upon seeing her face, he took a glance at Neji; they seemed to have the same eyes and when the sunlight hit her hair it was almost the same color as his.

Naruto clapped a hand on Gaara's back, using the other to gesture to the girl, "Gaara! This is Neji's cousin, she lives in the apartment below this one."

The girl sheepishly introduced herself as Hinata. Neji then explained that the two of them owned this building and shared their apartments with their friends before asking Gaara if he'd like something to drink. He asked for water and walked back to the kitchen island. Lee opened the box Gaara had given him and looked delighted at the assortment of baked goods before taking a big bite out of a black and white cookie.

When he finished chewing, he looked at Gaara, "This cookie is wonderful! Unfortunately, I do not think I will be able to eat all of the goodies you brought because the sugar may interfere with my fitness routine."

Gaara started to open his mouth to apologize and say he would get Lee something else next time, but someone loudly clicked their tongue behind him.

"Don't listen to him," A woman with brown eyes and two buns atop her head stood in a hallway Gaara had not noticed before, "He'll sneak in here at some point, eat all of them, then go on a run and work all the calories off."

"Tenten!" Lee squeaked, "I would not do such a thing!"

The woman, now identified as Tenten, shook her head, "Don't lie to us, Lee. We both know you have a huge sweet tooth."

Lee scrambled to defend himself and say that he didn't have a liking for pastries and such, but Neji and Tenten relentlessly listed off numerous occasions where he had gorged himself on sweets before making a disappointed face and forcing himself to do 2000 burpees right there and then.

After Lee was beet red from the teasing, the woman patted Gaara's back, "Lee's already said it, but my name's Tenten. Nice to meet you!"

"Gaara."

"Gaara, huh? You must be the person Lee's been babbling on about," She sized him up briefly, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"I don't think-"

Tenten threw her head over her shoulder, "Neji, do you know Gaara?"

"Well he's in my calculus class so," The gray eyed man slid Gaara a glass of ice water.

"Lee, what about you?"

"I had met Gaara a little while ago at the bookstore near your college," Lee put a hand over his cookie filled mouth as he spoke, "I am not sure where else I could have--Wait! Now that I think about it, a few months ago, there was a young man on a train that had red hair as striking as yours, Gaara."

"Oh, yeah!" Tenten rested her chin in her hand, "If I remember correctly, you were glaring at Lee like you were gonna kill him."

She giggled, "You looked so upset that Neji pointed you out before you murdered him with that stare of yours."

Gaara choked on his water, coughing as he tried to speak, "S-sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No, no, don't worry about it," Neji put both his hands on the island counter, "Anyone would have been annoyed. Lee is a very large and very loud person, which makes him a little off putting. Plus there was a service delay, so that sours the mood even more."

"I am not an off putting person!" Lee said indignantly.

His friends turned to him and said in unison, "You are."

Lee slammed a fist down, "You guys are very mean to me."

Neji smirked before starting to list off instances where Lee had scared off some new people with his enthusiasm alone. Gaara quietly sipped on his water, watching the scene unfold. Neji or Tenten would recall an instance, then the one who hadn't brought it up would giggle and add another. Lee's face grew impossibly redder from shame each time they listed something off. Tenten stopped Neji before they could go too far and she rubbed Lee's back gently, offering him another black and white cookie from the box. Lee took the cookie gingerly and gave it a sad little nibble.

While Tenten and Neji built Lee's confidence back up, Gaara heard a door click from what seemed like downstairs. He heard footsteps hurdling up the stairs and a man's voice shout followed by more footsteps. Then there was a large white dog sniffing his leg and jumping onto his chest. Gaara squeaked and set his glass on the island while trying to back away from the intruder. A few seconds later, a man with shaggy brown hair and red triangles on his cheeks burst into the apartment.

"Hey! Akamaru, get down!"

The dog jumped off of Gaara, head bowed as he sulkily walked to the newest person who had burst in. He scolded his dog, saying that it was rude to jump on people and he shouldn't do that again. Once Gaara was sure the dog wasn't going to come after him anymore, he realized that he was pressed up against Lee's shoulder. His apology died on his lips when he noticed that Lee was too busy gawking at the dog and the new person, so Gaara righted himself silently.

The man looked up from his dog, "Sorry about that guys. My sister's making me do a shit ton of paperwork for the shelter, so Akamaru hasn't been outside in a while. Big guy's restless."

Gaara brushed himself off and straightened his shirt out, he felt someone's eyes lingering on him.

When he glanced up, the man spoke, "I take it you're the unlucky one who got jumped, right? Sorry, he always does that to new people. My name's Kiba by the way."

Gaara introduced himself quickly, explaining that he was there to meet Lee and that he might be renting out a room to him. Kiba smiled and said that Lee, who was now on the floor with Akamaru, would be missed, but he was happy that Lee wouldn't be living in their cramped basement anymore. Naruto and Hinata had taken note of Kiba's entrance and chatted idly for a little while before Neji shooed them out after seeing Akamaru on one of his couches. Lee decided it would be a good time to ask Gaara if he would go on a walk with him to discuss more about the apartment.

They walked a few blocks, Lee asking some questions about what was nearby and pointing out areas he often passed by during his runs. Gaara informed Lee that Prospect Park was close to where he was and told him about a few of the restaurants and stores he frequented. Their conversation shifted when Lee caught sight of a falafel cart and bought some for the two of them. Gaara found them a bench to sit down on while Lee shouldered the weight of a conversation about the program he was attending at the Konoha branch. Lee had walked him to the subway station after they had finished eating. Gaara caught his train and thought back to Naruto, who was probably still back with his friends. He decided that it hadn't really been necessary to bring his Naruto with him. It had been nice to have someone with him for security, but Lee and his friends had been so welcoming that it didn't really matter if Naruto had been there or not. He had felt a little out of place but had been a good experience.

Gaara smiled to himself. He had fun with Lee and his strange friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's here! I hope you're all enjoying the story so far! Just a heads up that the next chapter might be a little late, I'm running a Monster of the Week campaign today and won't have much time to write.


	7. Sister's Approval

Gaara dreaded talking to Temari after he had gone and met Lee in person for the first time. He was sure he'd be chewed out for not telling her earlier and going without her permission, even though he was an adult. Despite the way his heart was racing, Gaara decided to get it over with and text her. Apparently, she had seen the little dots indicating that he was typing and called him before he could finish his message.

"Gaara, what happened? Did Lee show up at your house unannounced? Are you okay? Do you need me to look him up?"

This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to talk to her, "No, 'm fine." 

"Are you sure?" He heard a keyboard clacking in the background.

"Yes. 'M not in danger," He took a deep breath and continued, "I met with Lee in person." 

The clacking stopped, "I'm sorry, could you say that again?" 

Gaara squeezed his eyes closed, "I met with Lee in person." 

"Gaara," Temari's voice lowered dangerously, "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

He winced inwardly, here it came, "Do you know how irresponsible that is? You could've gotten yourself killed. When did this happen? Where were you? Why didn't you tell me first?"

Temari continued to assault him with rapid fire questions, he could barely get a single word in and decided to wait until she was done listing the numerous things that could've gone wrong. When she calmed down enough, Gaara recalled the important details and answered as best he could. His sister scoffed when he mentioned that he had brought Naruto with him. She said that his looks might make him seem imposing, but claimed that he was too much of a dolt to help if something had gone awry. Gaara rolled his eyes and continued telling Temari what else had happened while he had been at Neji's. In the end, she had been convinced that Lee was decent, but she was still unsure because she kept the offer to look him up in her database on the table. 

Before she hung up, Temari's voice lowered in pitch once again when she told her brother that, if he was going out to meet Lee, he needed to tell her immediately. Gaara knew that she was doing it out of love, but it didn't make the exchange less frightening.

\---

After their first meeting, Lee insisted that they go on more little excursions together. He said that he wanted to make sure he had a good bond with the person he would be living with because he didn't want to be a nuisance. Gaara agreed, he already knew Lee meant no harm, but it would be awkward for him to be living with someone he had just met. The meetings he and Lee had were mostly held at Neji's brownstone. Sometimes they would go to Prospect Park, but the late spring/early summer heat was nearly unbearable and they both preferred the comfort of air conditioning in Neji's apartment. Each time Gaara came, he would bring Lee some sort of small gift. He was more conscious of what he chose to bring, and now brought fruit arrangements instead of sweets.

As promised, Gaara told Temari each time he was going out to meet with Lee. She would make him tell her what they had done, who he was with, the whole deal every time. It was starting to get irritating and stifling, but he suffered through it for his sister's peace of mind. The next time Gaara gave Temari a heads up that he would be meeting Lee after work on Friday, she called him.

"I'm going with you." 

Gaara stared at his phone in disbelief, "What?" 

"You heard me, I'm going with you," She repeated it in a stern tone. 

"Temari-" 

"Ah, ah. No arguing, I'm going with you, end of discussion." 

Temari then hung up on him, leaving no room for argument. Trying to text her afterward and reason with her was practically useless after she had made up her mind. Gaara sighed and shot a message to the group chat Lee had made when he planned their first meeting, notifying Lee and Neji that his sister would be tagging along this time. Neji replied, saying that it would be alright with him. Lee texted back in a minute or so and said that he would be overjoyed to meet the wonderful young woman that was Gaara's sister. Naruto, who hadn't been kicked out of the chat for some reason, texted an eyes emoji.

A few days later, Gaara was wrapping up at Sunagakure, returning some items customers hadn't wanted back to their places. When he was bringing the first return cart back to the cashiers, he saw Temari and Baki chatting with each other. Baki perked up when he saw Gaara and pointed him out to his sister, who turned and waved. 

Baki asked him what else he had to do, "Just put the other cart of return items back." 

"Oh, don't worry about that, I'll get someone else to do it," He patted Gaara on the shoulder when he started to protest, "Your sister doesn't come out often, so you two should spend some time together. You really should take a break, Temari." 

She laughed at the last statement, "No, no, I couldn't. The students won't teach themselves and they'd probably forget their basic maneuvers if I wasn't there." 

His manager and Temari shared a laugh while Gaara went to get his things from the back room. When he returned, the two of them said their goodbyes to Baki, left the store and started walking to the subway. Gaara took a quick detour at a cafe near the station to pick something up for Lee. He wanted to buy a healthy snack for him, but Gaara was short on time because Temari was getting impatient; she wanted to get to their destination as quickly as possible. While he was waiting for the chocolate croissants he had asked for to be packed, he noticed a manila folder under Temari's arm.

He gestured to it with the bag of pastries as they walked out, "What's that?"

"Nothing important, just work files," the way she shifted it out of view made Gaara doubt that. "What about you? What are those croissants for? You don't like sweets."

"They're for Lee."

"What?" She was giving him a strange look, "For Lee? Why?"

"To be a good person," Gaara rolled his eyes, "You're the one who usually insists that Kankuro and I should bring gifts when we go to other people's houses."

His sister opened her mouth to say something but closed it after realizing that Gaara was right. 

On the train, Temari asked her brother to clarify some things about Lee before they got there. When she was satisfied, she opened up the folder and started to write something. Gaara watched her silently, suddenly suspicious of his sister's motivations. Temari had noticed his staring, and glared back, daring him to say something about it. Once they reached their stop, Gaara led his sister to Neji's place. He caught a glimpse of her nodding to herself while looking at the surrounding buildings and greenery. When he found Neji's brownstone, he pressed the buzzer next to the door. A long buzz played as the door was unlocked for him and his sister. Gaara started for the staircase, he was already on the second landing when he realized Temari wasn't following him. He looked over the railing and saw her taking notes in the folder she had brought. After seeing Gaara staring at her for a second time, she also started to climb the stairs. 

Neji's door was open as it usually was, so he took his shoes off and stepped inside. 

"Gaara!" Lee stood up from one of the living room couches, startling Neji, and another person he had never seen before; the two were playing chess. 

Gaara wandered over to Lee and handed him the bag, "Sorry it's not fruit, I didn't have a lot of time to-" 

Temari suddenly pushed her brother out of the way and stood in front of Lee, sizing him up. 

She then produced a badge from her pocket and addressed him, "My name is Temari, I am a Bodyguard Trainer at the Suna branch of Shinobi International. As your senior officer, I command you to give me your name, age, and rank right now." 

Lee, with the paper bag in hand, immediately stood up straight, "My name is Rock Lee, I am currently twenty one years old, and I am currently a Trial Bodyguard!" 

"Trial Bodyguard Lee, you are not supposed to hold things while you speak to a senior officer. Do it properly."

"Understood!" Lee put the paper bag on the floor, before resuming his stance, "Shall I repeat the information you asked for?"

"No, you can stop now," She eyed Lee as he crouched to pick the bag up again, "Sorry about the military shtick, just wanted to make sure you really were who Gaara says you are. Since you know the ranks, you're legit."

The entire room was staring confusedly at the scene that had just unfolded. Temari didn't apologize or even address the rest of the room after causing such a commotion, instead, she sat Lee down at the wooden table and started rapidly questioning him while pulling files out of the folder and taking notes. Gaara sighed deeply at Temari's antics and addressed the people in the room himself, telling them that the woman who had barged in was his sister. Tenten laughed a bit and brushed the incident off before offering him something to drink. Neji glanced over at Temari and Lee before shrugging and looking down at the board in front of him. His chess partner muttered something about the interruption being a nuisance before claiming one of Neji's pieces.

While his sister was busy interrogating Lee, Gaara spent his idle time watching Neji and his accomplice play chess. While Neji contemplated his next move, his opponent introduced himself as Shikamaru, who was currently winning. Eventually, Lee's interrogation was over and he and Temari came to watch the chess match as well. Shikamaru moved a knight across the board. 

"Why'd you move there? That pawn is totally gonna get you." Temari commented. 

The knight was captured by the pawn, as predicted. 

Shikamaru smirked at her before sliding his queen to checkmate Neji, "I win." 

Temari blinked twice at him while Neji groaned, "Damn, that's the fifth time I've lost."

Neji's opponent hoisted himself off the ground and stretched, "Well, I'm gonna go to the roof. Thanks for playing with me." 

Gaara watched as Shikamaru strode out of the apartment, Temari stared after him before taking a step to follow. Metallic clangs echoed through the room, which Gaara presumed to be Shikamaru climbing the ladder outside Neji's apartment. He caught wind of his sister's voice as she called after him.

When Gaara was sure his sister was gone, he asked Lee, who was sitting across from him, what Temari had asked him. Lee recounted that she had mostly asked him basic questions about where he was from, what his life was like, if he had a criminal record, and assured Gaara he hadn't been threatened or anything. Gaara didn't feel too confident in that last statement given how his sister had introduced herself to Lee, but he let it slide. After that, Lee moved to sit down across from Neji and challenged him to a chess match. Gaara watched a few rounds and realized that Neji was, in fact, very good at chess and that Shikamaru, despite his lazy disposition, was actually quite intelligent. Lee lost the first round and the second one seemed to be going badly, but he found a way to turn the match around and win.

After the two of them finished playing, Lee asked Gaara if he would like to try. Although he had been watching and was able to deduce who was winning, he didn't know the mechanics of the game since he was basing the winner off of how many pieces had been collected by the opponent. Gaara had declined, saying that he didn't know how to play, but Lee exclaimed that he could teach him. He turned out to be an excellent teacher; he made sure Gaara clearly understood how the pieces moved, what constituted as a checkmate, among other basic principles. If he didn't understand it after Lee explained it with words, he would patiently show him or try illustrating it another way. The rest of the visit was spent playing some practice games with Lee, who would explain why his moves or Gaara's were effective or not while they played. 

A little later, Temari came back down from the roof with Shikamaru and told Gaara that she would be leaving soon. Gaara had been planning to stay a little longer, but upon hearing that, he started to get prepared to leave as well. She stopped him, reminding Gaara that she lived in Queens and she would arrive home later than she'd prefer if she didn't leave now. Temari gave her little brother a hug before nodding briefly at Lee, waving to Neji and Tenten, and taking her leave. 

Gaara stayed for dinner, which had been ordered from some Chinese place a block or two away. While they chatted, Lee told Gaara more about his conversation with Temari. Despite her sternness, she seemed to have a soft spot for her little brother because most of her questions were Gaara-related. She asked Lee if he would be willing to help him out with household tasks and just keep him company. At the end of their discussion, Lee said that Temari had smiled at him gently and thanked him before wandering to the chess game between Shikamaru and Neji. 

Although she didn't say it outright, Gaara put it together that his sister finally trusted Lee enough to live with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said the next chapter was going to be late? I lied.


	8. The Hyuuga Building

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The readers can have chapter eight early as a treat!

The following week, he finally met all the people that lived in the Hyuuga building and learned more about them. Once, while it was raining, Lee had taken him down to the basement since they couldn't go outside and talk alone. He always tried to set aside some time for the two of them to talk privately for "bonding purposes." The basement was actually quite nice, but the staircase down was steep and a little rickety which kind of freaked Gaara out. There was a small hallway with a few storage rooms and a bathroom before they arrived at the room where Lee was currently staying. The floor was carpeted except for where there was a small kitchenette with a table. The room was lined with shelves containing numerous board games as well. Gaara noticed a couch tucked against a wall, Lee told him that it unfolded into a bed. 

Gaara took note of the fact that Lee had only brought three suitcases with him and asked about it; it seemed like he should've had more things since he was moving from another country. Lee explained that he and his uncle had lived in a fully furnished flat before they had moved, and left most of the furniture behind afterward. The only things they had owned were their clothes along with personal documents and electronics. Gaara asked where his uncle was now, Lee told him that he worked as a bodyguard which was part of the reason why he was studying to be one as well and that his current client was paying for his housing. He continued on and informed Gaara that he was staying with Neji and Tenten because they had been close friends in high school before the two moved away.

Lee explained that Neji's uncle and Hinata's father was the manager of a well known fencing league and had moved to America for competitions and to start a fencing school. Apparently, the two cousins hadn't gotten along very well in the past. Both of them, pressured by family tradition, were forced to learn how to fence and participate in fencing competitions when they were in high school. Neji worked hard to be one of the top fencers in Japan but had been outranked by Hinata even though she was not nearly as good as her cousin. Her father's power in the fencing community had automatically made her better than Neji, even if her skill was lacking. Although Hinata had not done anything directly, her relative held a bitter grudge against her that had stretched even when they had moved to America for college. The two of them had lived in separate apartments and only visited each other during the holidays. Naruto had come during one holiday, discovered their bitter history, and somehow terminated it in less than a week. The ownership of their shared brownstone was relatively new, Neji had initiated it after saying that their shared earnings could get them a better place to live. 

Tenten's parents had moved to America for work because the electronics company they worked for had sent them to their New York branch. They had lived in the city for a short time while Tenten started college. When their contract expired, her parents moved back to Japan. They had expected their daughter to come with them, but she stayed because she enjoyed the scenery and bustle of NYC more than her quiet hometown. 

Gaara and Lee's conversation peacefully drew on for a while, the two of them snacking on some oatmeal raisin cookies that Gaara had brought and some tea Lee made. Their conversation had been interrupted when a metal door, that had previously gone unnoticed by Gaara, creaked open. In the doorway stood a man whose face was half covered by a beige raincoat and round sunglasses, he was also holding a small bug container. 

"Hi, Shino!" Lee called out, "Would you like a cookie?" 

An unexpectedly deep voice replied, "Sure." 

Shino had sat down at the table with them and nibbled on a cookie. Although he was eating, Gaara never once saw his mouth from behind the raincoat. 

Lee took a sip from his cup, "What were you doing in the rain?" 

"The snails like to come outside when it rains," He gestured to his bug box. "I gently take them off the fence outside and give them some treats before letting them go." 

Gaara learned that there was a small courtyard behind the building and that there were some snails that lived there. Shino said the snails he had collected were native to New York and were called Perforate Dome snails. At Lee's insistence, the conversation proceeded to be about what snails liked to eat along with the different species of snails there were in the Americas. Shino explained that he was monitoring the snail population in their backyard for his classes; he was majoring in entomology and was planning to work with the research team at the American Museum of Natural history once he finished his courses. 

Another time, Gaara was walking down Neji's block and had seen a woman with blond hair tending to the plants on the stairs while talking to a man who was noisily munching on a bag of chips. When he walked up to the stoop, the woman looked up at him.

"Sorry, just need to get through."

"Sure, no problem," She shifted aside. "Might I ask who you are though?" 

Gaara told the woman who he was and explained that he was meeting with Lee because he was going to rent his spare room out to him. As an afterthought, he complimented her on the state of the plants, to which she chuckled and explained that her father owned a flower shop so she knew the basics of plant care. After asking her if she was majoring in botany like him, she said no, explained that this was just a hobby and that she was a medical student. She continued to speak and introduced herself as Ino and the man beside her as Choji. Ino said that the two of them, along with Shikamaru, lived on the first floor apartment together before letting Gaara go. 

\---

Temari no longer hounded Gaara for details or asked him when he was going to visit Lee any more after having met him herself. Instead, she asked Gaara if she could come with him when he planned to meet Lee at Neji's. Gaara wasn't sure why she needed to come since she had already deemed Lee harmless, but let her tag along anyway. Temari didn't come with him very often because of her job. In fact, Gaara usually didn't see his sister in person because she was so busy with work most of the time. When Temari tagged along, she would chat with Shikamaru while playing chess. Apparently, he worked at the Konoha branch as an instructor. 

His sister had been surprised by that, "You're an instructor? But you're so young!" 

"I'm twenty," Shikamaru huffed. "How old are you?" 

"Twenty six."

"That's young."

Temari scoffed at that, saying she was almost thirty and she was, in fact, old. Her opponent pointed out that thirty was young to someone who was sixty or seventy. She claimed one of his bishops. 

"My old man enrolled me in the two year program immediately after I graduated high school," Shikamaru had explained, "I didn't want to be an instructor after I finished the program, but my mom insisted I do it. It was more annoying to listen to her explain the reasons, so now I'm here." 

He continued and said that his father worked at Shinobi International as a tactical instructor, like him. Shikamaru was responsible for teaching students what to do in a given situation, which made sense to Gaara given the fact that he won pretty much every chess match he had with Temari or Neji. 

After his sister had gone home and Shikamaru had been called down by one of his friends, Neji brought something up, "Hey, Gaara, no pressure or anything, but when are you planning on showing Lee your place?" 

"Oh right!" Lee had said, as though he had forgotten that he was going to be living with Gaara at some point, "We should probably do that soon. Neji, I hope that I have not overstayed my welcome." 

"No, you're fine, but you've been living in our basement for almost two and a half months." 

The corners of Gaara's mouth tugged down upon hearing that and he told Lee that they should plan a meeting at his apartment ASAP. Lee agreed with him and said that he could meet Gaara at his apartment that Sunday after he finished teaching his classes at the dojo he worked at. 

After Gaara had arrived home and completed most of his homework for that weekend, he set about cleaning his apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, all! I hope this short chapter gives you some insight into the other friends that live in the building.


	9. Welcome to My House

When Sunday had finally arrived, Gaara had checked over his apartment at least twenty times over in the past two days. He was prepared for Lee's visit; his apartment was properly cleaned, he had taken a shower that morning, and he'd watered the plants. The person in question was supposed to be arriving a half hour, which was plenty of time to relax and wait. Everything was in order, but Gaara couldn't help but pace and check every corner over again while picking up stray hairs and specks of dust. 

Sighing, he tried to convince himself that his apartment was fine, there was no need to worry, and sat on the couch. Despite telling himself it was alright, he constantly checked his phone for a time update from Lee. After fifteen minutes of anxious waiting, Gaara reminded himself it was pointless to worry and tried to busy himself with other tasks. Decisively sitting down at his desk, he tried to finish his outline for his end-of-the-year paper but found that anything he typed was far too weak and general for him to keep it. Less than five minutes had passed, and Gaara had already given up on trying to work on his paper. Once again, he tried to focus on something else; were there any unfinished chores? No. What about getting the mail? But Lee would be coming soon. Maybe he should check the apartment over again. No, he'd done that at least five times today. Had Lee texted him at all? No, his phone would have buzzed.

Gaara checked his phone anyway, he hadn't received any new messages from Lee, but there were a few email notifications informing him that the books he had borrowed from the school library were due soon. He leaned back in his desk chair and stared at the ceiling for a second before checking his phone one last time. It was three minutes past the meeting time. That was fine, things happened.

He resumed staring at the ceiling.

A beat. Two beats. Three.

It wasn't fine.

Did something happen at his job? Did a kid get hurt? What if Lee had gotten lost afterwards? Was his train delayed? Did he take the wrong one? What if he was hit by a train? Was he hit by a car on the way here? Maybe he should text Neji or Tenten. No. They wouldn't know if Lee had gotten hit by a car. Or would they? They would, right? God, where was Lee? 

As if on cue, someone buzzed his apartment with a neat little pattern. Gaara flinched at the first buzz, blinking as the rest of the pattern was played out. Despite the way his heart was jack-rabbiting in his chest, he walked over to the buzzer control panel in the entryway of his apartment and pressed a button to listen outside through the outdated speaker on the panel. It was more of a habit than anything, the speaker garbled anything that came through; he heard nothing more than shuffling before he decided to press the button that would let his visitor into the building. Continuing to listen through the speaker, he waited for the two clicks that would tell him the person had gone through the two sets of entrance doors. A short while later, he heard footsteps thundering up some stairs and a knock at his door. Gaara was breathing a little too quickly as he checked the peephole, on the other side stood Lee, who was busy straightening out his shirt. He fumbled with the lock and sliding chain before opening the door. 

"Hi, Gaara!" Lee flashed him a smile and held up his phone, "I deeply apologize for not being able to text you about my arrival. I realized my phone had died when I was walking down your block. I hope I did not make you worry!" 

"You're fine."

The two stood in the doorway for a few uncomfortable seconds.

Gaara finally spoke up, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, "Um, you can come in now." 

Lee stepped into the apartment and took off his shoes, neatly tucking them near the door. Gaara struggled to lock the door and put the chain back in place, the little nub that was supposed to slide in was constantly slipping out of his grip. While he was struggling with the door lock, Gaara noticed Lee surveying his surroundings in his periphery, his hands on his hips. After finally sliding the chain into place, he turned to look at Lee. He stared at his back for a little while, unsure of what to do. 

Lee nodded to himself before noticing Gaara's stare, "As much as I like your entryway, I would very much like to see the rest of your apartment." 

"Right."

Gaara led Lee through his apartment, briefly pointing out the bathroom that was to the left of the entryway before walking into the main living space. Looking at it, with Lee now by his side, Gaara realized just how small his place was compared to Neji's. Everything was sort of crammed together, the kitchen was jammed into a narrow nook, the living room and dining room melded together, and his desk space was slapped in the middle of it all. While he showed Lee the room he would be renting out to him, Gaara was waiting for some sort of criticism, for Lee to say "thank you for the offer, but I will be looking for somewhere else to stay." Gaara didn't completely mind living alone, but inviting someone into his home, his private space, only to have it criticized would make him feel uncomfortably self-conscious about his choices. 

Lee looked around the room, there was a bed in a corner by the window with a side table next to it and a large number of cardboard boxes that had lingered after Gaara had moved. He apologized for the mess and promised that he would go through the boxes and get them out of the room as quickly as possible should Lee deem the place suitable. Lee said nothing, instead nodding to himself again before backing out of the room and taking a seat at the kitchen table, Gaara tentatively followed suit.

Gaara was shot another smile, "Your apartment is lovely!"

Well, he hadn't been expecting that, given Lee's unusual silence during the tour. 

"It has a very cozy air about it, and the plants make it feel more, um," Lee pulled out his phone, realized it was still dead, then pulled out a book from the backpack he had brought. 

He flipped through it for a bit before finding what he was looking for, "Lively! Yes, the plants make your house more lively."

"Thanks."

Lee rifled through his bag again, "Here, these are for you! I hope you do not have any food allergies."

Gaara shook his head "no" as Lee slid a plastic tupperware towards him. Inside the container were some round cookies with a few chocolate chips planted in the center of each one. He grabbed one from the box and took a small bite. The cookie was surprisingly soft and chewy, even though it had been baked some unspecified amount of time earlier. Gaara rolled the taste around in his mouth, it was sweet but not too sweet and there was definitely peanut butter in there. He didn't really like pastries and sweets, mainly because the amount of sugar was overpowering, but this was a heavenly blend of sweet and salty. 

He licked the crumbs off his fingertips before picking up another, "These're really good, thank you."

"I am very glad that you like them!" 

Lee excitedly told Gaara that he had made them himself, with some help translating the recipe from Tenten and Neji. He explained that he wanted to repay Gaara for dutifully bringing him health-conscious snacks for the past few weeks with something he'd made with equal effort, if not more. Gaara told Lee that it hadn't been a big deal, but he did appreciate the time and thought that had been put into making the cookies. From there, the conversation lulled back into a familiar pattern. Typically, Gaara would ask a question and let Lee do most of the talking. Today, Gaara asked about Lee's shift at the dojo, to which Lee delightedly recalled that his students were progressing fantastically and had picked up on the new moves he had demoed very quickly. 

After Lee had finished praising his students, Gaara steered them towards more consequential matters. They discussed when Lee should move in, Lee suggested they meet a few more times, but Gaara said that he didn't like the fact that he had been in a stuffy basement for two months. When Lee insisted he could tolerate it for another week or month if he had to, Gaara gave him a cut off for the meetings at a week. It was strange having Lee in his house, but he'd have to get used to it since he was going to be his roommate. He also added that a week would give him enough time to clear the boxes out from Lee's soon-to-be room. Lee offered to help him, Gaara refused, he was sure he could do it himself. The two chatted for a little while longer, pausing their conversation to order something from a nearby restaurant. Lee had insisted on paying the bill when the delivery person showed up at the door. Around seven, Lee thanked Gaara for having him and took his leave.

With that meeting, it was now settled; Gaara would have a new roommate next week.


	10. Officially Roommates

Gaara discovered that he couldn't handle the boxes in his guest room by himself. While he was struggling, he recalled that Kankuro and Temari had done most of the heavy lifting for him. Occasionally, they'd hand him a lamp or something to bring up, it made him feel like a little kid who was eager to prove to his parents he could carry the heaviest grocery bag inside. Upon realizing that he couldn't pick up the boxes or even slide them across the floor himself, Gaara cursed his scrawny arms and begrudgingly texted Lee that he would like some help with the boxes during his next visit.

When Lee had come over the next day, he picked up the boxes and deposited them on the rug that separated the kitchen from his living space like they weighed nothing. Gaara watched Lee enviously as he waited for his belongings to be repositioned. Once all the boxes were lined up neatly on the carpet, he started sorting through them. As he was rooting through his stuff, Lee told him more about what he was learning at the executive protection program he was enrolled in. He'd ask Lee to put something away for him from time to time while he spoke. Temari and Kankuro barely gave their little brother any details about what it was like to be a bodyguard when they were enrolled in the program, so most of his knowledge was coming from Lee. During this conversation, he learned that bodyguards had to do extensive research on their protectee and who they might possibly come into contact with; how they might talk their way out of a potentially dangerous situation before resolving to violence; and one way they could tell if someone was following them and their protectee. Lee had also touched upon how the program required general knowledge too and that those general classes counted towards a bachelor's in Liberal Arts. Apparently, that made it easier for international students to stick around after graduation if they had something else they wanted to do in the States.

Lee was scheduled to move in that Saturday afternoon, upon his arrival, Gaara had gotten an enthusiastic text asking him to come downstairs. When he had made it outside, he saw Lee and Neji getting out of a very nice looking SUV. It seemed bizarre that such a car didn't have at least one dent in it. Maybe it was a rental? The pristine condition was impressive considering the state of Kankuro's car. After some contemplation, it really wasn't that surprising. His brother wasn't the best driver out there and he followed the same traffic rules New Yorkers did, which was make up your own and use the actual law as a mere guideline.

Lee noticed that Gaara had finally come outside and gave him a sunny smile and wave as he headed for the trunk of the car, “Hello again, Gaara!”

Gaara wandered over to the car and watched Neji shut his door before going to help Lee. Lee’s friend was standing awkwardly next to him, his hands flailing around trying to find something to do to help, but Lee had already hauled his luggage out of the car and up onto the sidewalk.

While Neji shut the trunk of the car, Lee gave him a clap on the back, “Thank you for driving me here, I can handle the rest!”

Gaara unlocked the first set of entrance doors as Lee dragged his three suitcases over. However, Lee seemed to be struggling to get all his possessions through the door, so Neji tried to help by asking Gaara to unlock the second set of doors while he held the first open. Lee had insisted he had it when clearly, he did not. After unlocking the doors, Gaara put the doorstop attached to the edge of the door down and hopped down the set of stairs in the second chamber to help Lee move his luggage. Apparently, Lee didn't need help with this step because he was hoisting each of the suitcases up with ease. Gaara's eyes widened slightly while he watched him move the massive pieces of luggage over their heads like foam bricks. 

The next step of the journey was to get Lee's things up to Gaara's floor, in anticipation of Lee's next move he hurried to the elevator. Neji caught up with him while Lee pushed his suitcases down the hall.

“Don't bother with the elevator,” Gaara gave Neji a look, “He's doing another one of his self-imposed challenges.”

“Huh?”

“It's some sort of training thing his uncle suggested he do. If he can't do one thing, he'll come up with something else to do in place of that thing.”

Gaara didn't quite understand why there was a need to do such a thing, but he had learned a lot about Lee's determined disposition over the meetings they'd had and decided not to question it.

Neji gave Gaara an exasperated smile, “He wanted to bring all of his luggage through the subway. I don't think the commuters would have liked that very much.”

Gaara shook his head imagining the glares Lee would have gotten, “No they wouldn't've.”

“He was so persistent about it too, saying that he would, for sure, not be a hindrance to anyone. I don't think he gets how New Yorkers can be yet,” Neji continued. “He only gave in when he checked the time on his phone and realized that me driving him here would be easier and faster.”

"Wait, is that your car?"

"Yup. Doesn't seem like you could maintain a thing like that in a city, right? Competition money is the best."

Neji laughed and explained that, while he and Hinata were no longer in an official fencing league, his uncle still had them compete if they had the time. With the extra money the two of them earned, they had been able to pay for their brownstone, their own cars, along with private parking. That mostly explained why it wasn't scratched up or dented, but some jackass could still crash into the car and ruin it. After thinking about it, Neji’s insurance was probably pretty fancy and could get the car fixed up quickly, or he was just really lucky.

The two of them took the elevator up two floors, where Gaara's apartment was, and watched Lee slowly, but surely, get all of his luggage up the stairs. Once the first suitcase hit the landing, Gaara tried to drag it to his door, but it wouldn't budge. He ogled the flimsy looking wheels for a second, wondering how they were still on there before Lee came up behind him and apologized for not getting to it faster. Lee proceeded to drag the suitcase across the tiled landing floor with as much ease as a hot knife through butter. Once Gaara unlocked his apartment door and Lee shuffled inside, Neji smiled and said that he was heading out.

Lee didn't let him go quite yet, turning around to give his friend a teary-eyed hug while thanking him graciously for allowing him to live with him for the past two months. Neji had looked exhausted while Lee clung to him, sobbing while singing cries of praise, but endured it until Lee let go.

After Neji had left, Lee took a few minutes to compose himself, then turned to Gaara, beaming, "This is exciting! We are now officially roommates!"

"Yup, we are."

Gaara spent the rest of the day helping Lee get settled in. Well, it was more like he sat on the guest, no, Lee's bed and watched him; every time he got up and tried to offer his assistance, he'd be shooed away. While Gaara watched Lee mill about his new room, he found out that the suitcase he had tried to move was filled with all sorts of weights and workout equipment. Lee asked him where to put his equipment, and Gaara directed him to a corner of his living space that was near a plant-filled window. That first night with Lee in the house, was surprisingly normal except for the fact that he now had to wait to take a shower. When Gaara woke up that morning, it didn't feel like much had changed.

\--- 

Usually, Gaara didn't cook for himself. His meals were mostly limited to frozen food or something he had ordered from a restaurant nearby. That wasn't to say that Gaara didn't know how to cook, he always made green bean casserole and baked an apple pie for Thanksgiving at Temari's, but that he rarely had time to. With college, work, and sheer laziness, it was easier for him to just order food or quickly heat something up. When Lee discovered Gaara's nearly barren fridge and stash of frozen foods the next night, his cheery expression had faltered slightly, but he still heated up something for the two of them. It was strange to eat his sit down at the table dinner with someone since he usually ate wherever, but it had been pleasant. Lee insisted that they eat together for the rest of the week. 

After most of the frozen meals had disappeared, Lee asked Gaara if they could go grocery shopping. Gaara listed off a few places near his apartment, but Lee said they would be going elsewhere while he snatched a rather large cooler bag and a backpack from his room. One subway trip later, Gaara found himself standing in front of a very large Whole Foods. Lee had shepherded him into the store with a cart, leading Gaara around and occasionally asking him to grab something. When they had reached the register, Gaara took note of how much they were spending on everything Lee had thrown into the cart, it was a couple hundred dollars more than he would usually spend. Lee noticed Gaara's shocked expression and mentioned that people usually spend the same amount, he didn't believe him. He wasn't able to dwell on it for very long because Lee was trying to single handedly stuff all the groceries into the cooler bag and his backpack. It took a lot of negotiating, but Gaara was able to coax Lee into letting him carry some of the bags.

With that debacle over with, Gaara was now busy fretting over how they were going to bring all the food home. He was about to ask Lee about it, but the person in question was already halfway down the block. When he caught up, Lee assured him that they would be fine on the train. Gaara tried to argue more, but they had reached the station and Lee had already swiped his way through. He sighed and followed his roommate to the platform. Unexpectedly, no one had minded the two of them with their large haul of groceries but because of the amount of space they were taking up, there had been a few stares.

Gaara's arms felt like they were going to fall off when he reached his apartment building. He was thankful that Lee had taken the bags from him so he could unlock all the doors, he still needed to get his keys copied so they could have a set of extras since Lee was currently using his spare keys. The journey wasn't over yet when they finally reached the actual apartment, Lee dutifully set out to work putting all the groceries away. Gaara moved to help, but Lee told him to get some water and rest after hearing his labored breathing.

While sipping on a glass of water, he watched Lee carefully put some produce into one of the fridge drawers, “Isn’t this a little overboard for two people?”

“Nope, not at all!” Lee put some chicken breasts in the freezer, “Neji and Tenten usually have about the same amount.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes!”

Gaara gave him a skeptical look before asking another question, “Why couldn’t we just’ve bought more frozen food?” 

“Gaara, frozen foods are an absolute ‘no’ when it comes to taking care of your body!”

Lee continued his explanation while he cooked the two of them dinner, saying that frozen meals contained a large number of preservatives that could lead to a number of different health conditions. While Gaara quietly dug into the plate in front of him, Italian sausage and peppers with some pasta on the side, he was graced with an unnecessary explanation of the food pyramid. 

That Monday, Gaara had completed going about his normal morning routine and was ready to head out the door after he grabbed a granola bar when he bumped into Lee. He was clad in a spandex shirt, Gaara recalled that it was from when he had first met him on the train, and the shoes he had seen him in when he met Lee at Sunagakure.

He was offered a wave, "Good morning, Gaara! Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Um, no," He rummaged through the cabinets, "I'll get something when I'm on campus."

Lee asked him how long his commute was, Gaara told him it was somewhere around an hour before he found what he was looking for.

He stood up, prepared to take off, but was stopped by an appalled gasp, "Gaara! You should eat something before you leave!"

Gaara waved the granola bar at Lee, but he was ignored as the bar was taken from him and replaced by a bowl. He looked down at the dish in his hands; it was oatmeal. The corners of his lips tugged down while he stared at it, Gaara didn’t usually eat anything too hearty when he woke up because he didn’t think his stomach could handle it so early in the morning.

Lee slipped a spoon into the bowl and gave him a wink, waiting for him to try it. Teal eyes flicked over his roommate’s excited face, he sighed before taking the spoon in hand.

Gaara couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten oatmeal, but it had to be somewhere around when high school and he and his siblings were still living together. Although he didn’t like to eat in the morning, Temari would always make him force something down before one of their family friends that had a car picked all of them up and dropped them off at their respective locations; Gaara at school, Kankuro and Temari at work. His sister was a good cook, but her oatmeal had always been too soupy and bland for Gaara’s liking. 

Waiting for the much too watery and cardboardy taste he had come to expect, he was blown away when he put the spoon in his mouth. It was sweet, with a hint of cinnamon, and it had a perfect consistency that wasn’t extremely thin or way too thick. A brief glance at the microwave clock told him he had more than enough time to finish the bowl in his hands, so he took a seat. While Gaara discovered that there were banana slices, walnuts, and dried cranberries hidden in his oatmeal, Lee spouted about breakfast over his own bowl. 

“You know, Gaara, breakfast is the most important meal of the day! It energizes your brain and body so that you are able to properly focus on your classwork, and…” 

Gaara let Lee’s tirade continue while he finished his food, nodding along from time to time. When Lee concluded his breakfast speech, Gaara rose from his spot at the table and put his bowl in the sink.

“Thanks,” He hesitated for a second, not quite sure what to say, “I haven’t had oatmeal in a while. It was really good.” 

Lee smiled at him while he rinsed out their bowls and put them in the dishwasher, “I am very glad that you enjoyed it!” 

Gaara made his way to the door, recollecting his phone and keys on the way. Lee trailed behind him and insisted on walking with him to the station. Noticing that his companion was without a backpack, Gaara asked if he had class today. He was informed that Lee’s classes didn’t start until ten and that he would be leaving after completing his morning workout. In turn, Lee asked Gaara when his classes started, he told him that his first one started at eight thirty. They paused their walk for a second as Lee checked his phone, it was seven already, Gaara would be cutting it close. Once they reached the station, his roommate told him that he would adjust his morning schedule so that Gaara could eat something before going to school. Then he waved and took off running, leaving Gaara to go about his commute. 

\--- 

A few weeks into Gaara’s new life where he had a filling breakfast in the morning and homemade dinners at night, he noticed that a few of his plants weren’t doing as well as he was. After his morning shower, while he was going through the watering rounds, he noticed that the broad leaves on one of his snake plants were starting to turn brown on the edges. A few of the cacti in the living room window sills were also having a hard time as they were sporting some unsightly brown spots. Frowning, Gaara gingerly touched the soil around the cactus and snake plant, the soil was wet, too wet. He clicked his tongue, maybe he had watered them early or maybe even twice by accident, though he usually didn't make such mistakes. Then again, he had forgotten to bring a change of clothes with him to the bathroom that morning, so he wasn't completely with it today. He made a mental note not to water those particular plants for the rest of the month.

While he was pulling a shirt over his head and walking into the living room, he heard Lee shuffling around; he probably had just woken up. Gaara was about to greet him and ask what his roommate was going to make for breakfast, but once the shirt was over his head he saw something that made his blood run cold. Lee was standing in the living room, a plastic cup in hand, watering the plants he just told himself to leave alone for the next few weeks.

He noticed Gaara's presence and turned to give him a smile, "Good morning, Gaara! Did you sleep we-"

"Lee," Gaara's voice dropped a few octaves, "What're you doing?"

If it were his siblings, who had dealt with him for a very long time and knew what made their brother tick, they would have taken note of the pitch drop immediately and stopped what they were doing. Unfortunately, Lee had no such experience with Gaara, and he probably mistook the change in his voice for grogginess while he continued to pour water into the plant pots.

"Oh! Well, these plants of yours did not seem to be doing well, the soil was very dry. I thought some water might he-"

"Lee," Gaara stared him down, a flash of anger making his fingers go cold, "Stop."

He stopped, smile faltering, "Am I doing something wrong?"

Gaara could handle being told to get better food, eat better, and have breakfast, that was all fine and actually made him feel more productive, but this was not okay. He didn't like to get physical or argue in general, but he desperately wanted to punch his roommate's innocent face and banish that smile to another dimension. Lee was killing some of his favorite plants, for fuck's sake. The cacti that were dying were particularly special to Gaara; his sister had taken the time to sneak away from her protectee during a stint in Arizona to get them for him, it was a move that could've cost Temari her job. Not only that, but Gaara was quite fond of desert flora and some of his earliest memories were of hikes with his family in the Arizona desert before they had moved to the tristate area. Those cacti held almost as much value as his life, they were special to him even if he could just go to some gardening store and buy another, he had a personal connection with them.

A voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "Gaara, if there is something I am doing wrong, I would very much appreciate it if you would tell me. I do not wish to make you ups-"

"Stop talking."

"But, Gaara! This is an issue that-"

Gaara held up a hand, "Stop. Talking."

Lee shut up and put his arms to his side, cup still in hand. His voice had been steadily rising into panic, which only fueled Gaara's anger more. He needed some time to think, now that Lee had stopped talking, he was able to calm himself down and take a few deep breaths. Lee was inadvertently hurting his plants, the man didn't have an ounce of malice in him. If he ever had to be violent, it would be out of necessity and determination to fulfill that necessity. This was an accident and misunderstanding; Lee had only been trying to help.

With this in mind, Gaara addressed his roommate, “‘S fine, but lemme tell you that different types of plants require different levels of care."

"O-oh, they do? I was not aware. Please tell me more! I would not like to repeat the same mistake."

Gaara sighed and walked the two of them to the kitchen to sit down at the table and discuss. He explained that certain plants needed less attention than others and that the plants Lee had taken initiative on were becoming waterlogged because of his care. Lee asked him what that meant for the plant, to which Gaara responded that the plant's roots would begin to rot, thus killing the whole organism. After he finished his explanation, he was given a lengthy apology. Still wanting to help with the plants, Gaara assigned Lee some that needed weekly attention and others that needed to be watered daily. While breakfast was being made, he grabbed some abandoned dry erase markers from his desk and drew a large month calendar on the wall between their rooms. He was thankful that the conversation was over, he had spent too much time talking and pushed himself way out of his comfort zone.

Temari, when Gaara had first moved in, insisted that she help decorate the place. One of the things she had fought the landlord tooth and nail for was using whiteboard paint on one of the walls. Gaara had said that it was unnecessary and Kankuro said that he didn't understand the point of it, but their sister explained that it might be helpful for organization. She further explained that drawing out what she was going to do for the week helped her stay on track.

"Well maybe Gaara doesn't work like that," his brother had said.

Kankuro was given a glare that made Gaara allow his sister to paint the wall, although he was sure it wouldn't be put to use. His lips quirked upwards ever so slightly at the memory while he continued to draw, suddenly thankful for the month he had spent learning how to do proper field drawings in class as he illustrated the plants that Lee would be watering. 

\---

After the whole meal and grocery issues along with the plant discourse, the other nuances weren't anything major. Even though there had been issues, Lee was definitely a huge upgrade from when he had lived with Naruto; he was very tidy and tried to keep his possessions where they belonged, he respected Gaara's space and never once bothered him if he had left his door closed, and he was never overly loud or disruptive once the sun had set. A short while into living together, the two of them briefly discussed how they would handle chores. At first, Lee insisted that he do the bulk of the work. Gaara had to remind him that he had lived in the apartment by himself for a year and that he had handled all the chores himself back then. There was no need for him to be babied and that Lee did a lot around the apartment that he hadn't asked for, like cooking and watering half of his plants. They decided that Gaara would handle his room, the living and dining spaces, as well as the bathroom, while Lee would do his own room, deal with anything pertaining to the kitchen, and take out the trash.

Even though basic things, like chores, had been settled, Gaara now had to be more conscious of his movements early in the morning when his insomnia had been particularly bad. He wasn't exactly loud when he had lived by himself, but Gaara felt that he couldn't heat up leftovers in the microwave any more for fear of waking Lee. One time, Lee had woken up to go to the bathroom while Gaara was in the kitchen at three in the morning. Unsure of what he could snack on that wouldn't make too much noise, Gaara had decided to eat an entire spoonful of peanut butter. Spoon centimeters from his mouth, Lee had opened his door and gave him a sleepy wave before doing a double take and looking at Gaara more closely. Lee didn't say anything about it outright, but Gaara found a container with some peanut butter balls packed with nuts and seeds in the fridge the next morning.

There had also been an instance where Gaara had come home from work and settled down at his desk to chip away at his final paper. When he scooted his chair back, he'd bumped into a pair of weights Lee had probably used for his morning work out. He tried to pick them up, but his twiggy arms didn't let him do more than struggle. Gaara had, instead, taken a good fifteen minutes to inch them out of the way. After Lee had gotten home, Gaara confronted him about it. He had apologized profusely and it didn't happen again. 

Despite all the little snags they’d had during the first few weeks of living together, Gaara truly did enjoy having Lee as his roommate. It was nice to have some company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's official! They're roommates! I hope you enjoyed this long chapter, it was a bit of a monster for me, but my lovely beta was a big help! Usually, I can't seem to push past my word limit (1500-2000), yet I was able to make it past that with their help.


End file.
